Aside from fixing Debian(!) and other than being anti - systemd, it
seems unclear to me what the aims and goals are for the project.

Is there a consensus on for example console/policy kit and needless
middleware like pulse audio ?

for example in Gentoo I can have or not policy kit (as I choose) and if
I don't have it I can log out of xfce without a password, I wish Debians
packaging were as flexible...

Which brings up in my mind another issue, who's in charge? is in a
dictatorship? is there any kind of formal issue resolution ?

What happens if there is a (potentially avoidable) concrete dependency
on a package you'd rather be free of ? to whom do you turn?

Don't get me wrong I wouldn't want to see this project destroyed with
too much democracy like Debian seems to be doing to itself (who'd have
thought that were possible)

If it is to be a benevolent dictatorship, then clear policies and goals
need to be stated to avoid alienating people. It would be unfair if
people started working with the project to discover later that their
views conflicted with an invisible policy which there were little or no
chance of changing.

If there is to be some kind of "policy change resolution process"
(horrid needs rephrasing!) then again this needs working out and
publicly stated sooner rather than later.

All the best
Chris